P. F. Strawson
Encyclopedia
Sir Peter Frederick Strawson FBA
(23 November 1919 – 13 February 2006) was an English
philosopher
. He was the Waynflete Professor of Metaphysical Philosophy at the University of Oxford
(Magdalen College
) from 1968 to 1987. Before that he was appointed as a college lecturer at University College, Oxford
in 1947 and became a tutorial fellow the following year until 1968. On his retirement in 1987, he returned to the college and continued working there until shortly before his death.
, West London
, and brought up in Finchley
, Middlesex
, by his parents, both of whom were teachers. He was educated at Christ's College, Finchley, followed by St John's College, Oxford
, where he read Philosophy, Politics and Economics.
's Theory of Descriptions
(see also Definite description
s). He was largely responsible for establishing metaphysics
as a worthwhile direction in analytic philosophy
.
In philosophical methodology, there are (at least) two important and interrelated features of Strawson's work that are worthy of note. The first is the project of a descriptive metaphysics, and the second is his notion of a shared conceptual scheme, composed of concepts operated in everyday life. In his book Individuals, Strawson attempts to give a description of various concepts that form an interconnected web, representing (part of) our common, shared, human conceptual scheme. In particular, he examines our conceptions of basic particulars, and how they are variously brought under general spatio-temporal concepts. What makes this a metaphysical project is that it exhibits, in fine detail, the structural features of our thought about the world, and thus precisely delimits how we, humans, think about reality.
Peter Strawson was made a Fellow of the British Academy
in 1960, and Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
in 1971. He was president of the Aristotelian Society
from 1969 to 1970. He was knighted in 1977, for services to philosophy.
(born 1952), is also a philosopher.
British Academy
The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national body for the humanities and the social sciences. Its purpose is to inspire, recognise and support excellence in the humanities and social sciences, throughout the UK and internationally, and to champion their role and value.It receives an annual...
(23 November 1919 – 13 February 2006) was an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
philosopher
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
. He was the Waynflete Professor of Metaphysical Philosophy at the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
(Magdalen College
Magdalen College, Oxford
Magdalen College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. As of 2006 the college had an estimated financial endowment of £153 million. Magdalen is currently top of the Norrington Table after over half of its 2010 finalists received first-class degrees, a record...
) from 1968 to 1987. Before that he was appointed as a college lecturer at University College, Oxford
University College, Oxford
.University College , is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. As of 2009 the college had an estimated financial endowment of £110m...
in 1947 and became a tutorial fellow the following year until 1968. On his retirement in 1987, he returned to the college and continued working there until shortly before his death.
Early years
Peter Strawson was born in EalingEaling
Ealing is a suburban area of west London, England and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Ealing. It is located west of Charing Cross and around from the City of London. It is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. It was historically a rural village...
, West London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, and brought up in Finchley
Finchley
Finchley is a district in Barnet in north London, England. Finchley is on high ground, about north of Charing Cross. It formed an ancient parish in the county of Middlesex, becoming a municipal borough in 1933, and has formed part of Greater London since 1965...
, Middlesex
Middlesex
Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...
, by his parents, both of whom were teachers. He was educated at Christ's College, Finchley, followed by St John's College, Oxford
St John's College, Oxford
__FORCETOC__St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, one of the larger Oxford colleges with approximately 390 undergraduates, 200 postgraduates and over 100 academic staff. It was founded by Sir Thomas White, a merchant, in 1555, whose heart is buried in the chapel of...
, where he read Philosophy, Politics and Economics.
Career
Strawson first became well known with his article "On Referring" (1950), a criticism of Bertrand RussellBertrand Russell
Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, OM, FRS was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian, and social critic. At various points in his life he considered himself a liberal, a socialist, and a pacifist, but he also admitted that he had never been any of these things...
's Theory of Descriptions
Theory of descriptions
The theory of descriptions is the philosopher Bertrand Russell's most significant contribution to the philosophy of language. It is also known as Russell's Theory of Descriptions...
(see also Definite description
Definite description
A definite description is a denoting phrase in the form of "the X" where X is a noun-phrase or a singular common noun. The definite description is proper if X applies to a unique individual or object. For example: "the first person in space" and "the 42nd President of the United States of...
s). He was largely responsible for establishing metaphysics
Metaphysics
Metaphysics is a branch of philosophy concerned with explaining the fundamental nature of being and the world, although the term is not easily defined. Traditionally, metaphysics attempts to answer two basic questions in the broadest possible terms:...
as a worthwhile direction in analytic philosophy
Analytic philosophy
Analytic philosophy is a generic term for a style of philosophy that came to dominate English-speaking countries in the 20th century...
.
In philosophical methodology, there are (at least) two important and interrelated features of Strawson's work that are worthy of note. The first is the project of a descriptive metaphysics, and the second is his notion of a shared conceptual scheme, composed of concepts operated in everyday life. In his book Individuals, Strawson attempts to give a description of various concepts that form an interconnected web, representing (part of) our common, shared, human conceptual scheme. In particular, he examines our conceptions of basic particulars, and how they are variously brought under general spatio-temporal concepts. What makes this a metaphysical project is that it exhibits, in fine detail, the structural features of our thought about the world, and thus precisely delimits how we, humans, think about reality.
Peter Strawson was made a Fellow of the British Academy
British Academy
The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national body for the humanities and the social sciences. Its purpose is to inspire, recognise and support excellence in the humanities and social sciences, throughout the UK and internationally, and to champion their role and value.It receives an annual...
in 1960, and Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
in 1971. He was president of the Aristotelian Society
Aristotelian Society
The Aristotelian Society for the Systematic Study of Philosophy was founded at a meeting on 19 April 1880, at 17 Bloomsbury Square which resolved "to constitute a society of about twenty and to include ladies; the society to meet fortnightly, on Mondays at 8 o'clock, at the rooms of the Spelling...
from 1969 to 1970. He was knighted in 1977, for services to philosophy.
Personal life
Strawson died in hospital on 13 February 2006 after a short illness. Strawson's son, Galen StrawsonGalen Strawson
Galen John Strawson is a British philosopher and literary critic who works primarily on philosophy of mind, metaphysics , John Locke, David Hume and Kant. He was educated at the Dragon School, Oxford , from where he won a scholarship to Winchester College...
(born 1952), is also a philosopher.
Books
- Introduction to Logical Theory. London: Methuen, 1952.
- Individuals: An Essay in Descriptive Metaphysics. London: Methuen, 1959.
- Chapter 1: Bodies
- German translation by F. Scholz (Stuttgart: Reclam, 1972)
- French translation by A. Shalom and P. Drong (Paris: Editions du Seuil, 1973)
- Italian translation by E. Bencivenga (Milan: Feltrinelli, 1978)
- Japanese translation by N. Nakamura (Tokyo: Misuzu Shobo, 1978)
- Polish translation by B. Chwedenczuk (Warsaw: Wydawniczy Pax, 1980)
- Spanish translation by A. Suarez and L. Villanueva (Madrid: Taurus, 1989)
- The Bounds of SenseThe Bounds of SenseThe Bounds of Sense: An Essay on Immanuel Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason is a 1966 book by P.F. Strawson, a 20th-century Oxford philosopher...
: An Essay on Kant's Critique of Pure Reason. London: Methuen, 1966.- Spanish translation by C. Luis Andre (Madrid: Revista de Occidente, 1975)
- German translation by E. Lange (Hain, 1981)
- Italian translation by M. Palumbo (Roma-Baril: Laterza, 1985)
- Japanese translation, 1987
- Logico-Linguistic Papers. London: Methuen, 1971
- Freedom and Resentment and other Essays. London: Methuen, 1974
- Subject and Predicate in Logic and Grammar. London: Methuen, 1974
- Skepticism and Naturalism: Some Varieties. New York: Columbia University Press, 1985.
- Analysis and Metaphysics: An Introduction to Philosophy. Oxford: Oxford University PressOxford University PressOxford University Press is the largest university press in the world. It is a department of the University of Oxford and is governed by a group of 15 academics appointed by the Vice-Chancellor known as the Delegates of the Press. They are headed by the Secretary to the Delegates, who serves as...
, 1992. - Entity and Identity. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997.
Articles
- "Necessary Propositions and Entailment Statements" (Mind, 1948)
- "Truth" (Analysis, 1949)
- "Ethical Intuitionism (Philosophy, 1949)
- "Truth" (Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society suppl. vol. xxiv, 1950)
- "On Referring" (MindMind (journal)Mind is a British journal, currently published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Mind Association, which deals with philosophy in the analytic tradition...
, 1950) - "Particular and General" (Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, 1953
- "Wittgenstein's Philosophical Investigations (Mind, vol. 63, 1954)
- "A Logician's Landscape" (Philosophy, Vol. 30, 1955)
- "Construction and Analysis" in A.J. Ayer et al., The Revolution in Philosophy. London: Macmillan, 1956
- "Singular Terms, Ontology and Identity" (Mind, Vol. 65, 1956)
- "In Defence of a Dogma" with H. P. Grice (Philosophical Review, 1956)
- "Logical Subjects and Physical Objects" (Philosophy and Phenomenological ResearchPhilosophy and Phenomenological ResearchPhilosophy and Phenomenological Research is a bimonthly philosophy journal founded in 1940. Until 1980, it was edited by Marvin Farber, then by Roderick Chisholm and since 1986 by Ernest Sosa...
, 1957) - "Propositions, Concepts and Logical Truths" (Philosophical Quarterly, Vol. 7, 1957)
- "Proper Names" (Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, Supp. Vol. 31, 1957)
- "On Justifying Induction" (Philosophical Studies, 1958)
- "The Post-Linguistic Thaw" (Times Literary Supplement, 1960)
- "Freedom and Resentment" (Proceedings of the British Academy, Vol. 48, 1960)
- "Singular Terms and Predication" (Journal of PhilosophyJournal of PhilosophyThe Journal of Philosophy is a monthly peer-reviewed academic journal on philosophy. Its stated purpose is "To publish philosophical articles of current interest and encourage the interchange of ideas, especially the exploration of the borderline between philosophy and other disciplines." The...
, 1961) - "Perception and Identification" (Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, Supp. Vol. 35, 1961)
- "Carnap's Views on Constructed Systems v. Natural Languages in Analytical Philosophy" in The Philosophy of Rudolf Carnap ed. P.A. Schlipp (La Salle Ill.: Open Court, 1963)
- " A Problem about Truth: A reply to Mr. Warnock" in Truth, ed. G. Pitcher, Englewood Cliffs (N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1964)
- "Truth: A Reconsideration of Austin's Views" (Philosophical Quarterly, Vol. 15, 1965)
- "Self, Mind and Body" (Common Factor, Vol. 4, 1966)
- "Is Existence Never A Predicate" (Critica, Vol.1, 1967)
- "Bennett on Kant's Analytic" (Philosophical Review, Vol. 77, 1968)
- "Meaning and Truth" (Proceedings of the British Academy, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1969)
- "Imagination and Perception" in Experience and Theory, ed. L. Foster and J.W. Swanson (Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1970)
- "Categories" in Ryle: A Collection of Critical essays, ed. O.P. Wood and G. Pitcher, (New York: Doubleday, 1970)
- "The Asymmetry of Subjects and Predicates" in Language, Belief and Metaphysics, ed. H.E. Kiefer and M.K. Munitz (New York: State of University of New York Press, 1970)
- "Self-Reference, Contradiction and Content-Parasitic Predicates" (Indian review of Philosophy, 1972)
- "Different Conceptions of Analytical Philosophy" (Tijdschrift voor Filosofie, 1973)
- "Austin and 'Locutionary Meaning'" in Essays on J.L. Austin, ed. I Berlin (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1973)
- "On Understanding the Structure of One's Language" in Freedom and Resentment and Other Essays
- "Positions for Quantifiers" in semantics and Philosophy, ed. M.K. Munitz and P.K. Unger (New York: New York University Press, 1974)
- "Does Knowledge Have Foundations?" (Conocimiento y Creencia, 1974)
- "Semantics, Logic and Ontology" (Neue Hafte fur Philosophie, 1975)
- "Knowledge and Truth" (Indian Philosophical Quarterly, Vol. 3., No. 3, 1976)
- "Entity and Identity" in Contemporary British Philosophy Fourth Series, ed. H.D. Lewis (London: Allen and Unwin, 1976)
- "Scruton and Wright on Anti-Realism" (Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, Vol. 77, 1976)
- "May Bes and Might Have Beens" in Meaning and Use, ed. A. Margalit (London: Reidel, 1979)
- "Perception and its Objects" in Perception and Identity: Essays Presented to A.J. Ayer, ed. G.F. Macdonald (London: Macmillan, 1979)
- "Universals" (Midwest Studies in PhilosophyMidwest Studies in PhilosophyMidwest Studies in Philosophy, is an annual journal in the analytic tradition that covers one topic in each issue. In 2007, the editors are Peter A. French and Howard K. Wettstein....
, 1979) - "Belief, Reference and Quantification" (Monist, 1980)
- "P.F. Strawson Replies" in Philosophical Subjects Presented to P.F. Strawson, ed. Zak Van Straaten (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1980)
- "Comments and Reples" (Philosophia, Vol. 10, 1981)
- "Logical Form and Logical Constants" in Logical Form, Predication and Ontology, ed. P.K. Sen (India: Macmillan, 1982)
- " Liberty and Necessity" in Spinoza, His Thought & Work, ed. Nathan Rotenstreich and Norma Schneider (Jerusalem: The Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, 1983)
- "Causation and Explanation" in Essays on Davidson, ed. Bruce Vermazen and J. Hintikka (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1985)
- "Direct Singular Reference: Intended Reference and Actual Reference" in Wo steht die Analytische Philosophie Heute?, 1986
- "Reference and its Roots" in The Philosophy of W.V.Quine. ed L.E. Hahn and P.A. Schlipp (La Salle Ill.: Open Court, 1986)
- "Kant's Paralogisms: Self Consciousness and the 'Outside Obsrver'" in Theorie de Subjektivitat, ed. K. Cramer, F. Fulda, R.-P. Hortsmann, U. Poshast (Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp, 1987)
- "Concepts and Properties, or Predication and Copulation" (Philosophical Quarterly, Vol. 37, 1987)
- "Kant's New Foundations of Metaphysics" in Metaphysik nach Kant, ed. Dieter HenrichDieter HenrichDieter Henrich is a German philosopher. A contemporary thinker in the tradition of German Idealism, Henrich is particularly known for the influence of Kant, Hegel and Fichte in his work.-Life:...
and R.-P. Horstmann (Stuttgart: Klett Cotta, 1988) - "Ma Philosophie: son Developpement, son Theme Central et sa Nature Generale (Revue de Theologie et de Philosophie, Vol. 120, 1988)
- "Sensibility, Understanding and the Doctrine of Synthesis: Comments on D. Henrich and P. Guyer" in Kant's Transcendental Deductions, ed. E. Forster (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1989)
- "Two Conceptions of Philosophy" in Perspectives on Quine, ed. Robert Barrett and Roger Gibson (Oxford: Blackwell: 1990)
- "The Incoherence of Empiricism" (Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, Supp. Vol. 66, 1992)
- "Comments on Some Aspects of Peter Unger's Identity, Consciousness and Value (Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, Vol. 42, 1992)
- "Echoes of Kant" (Times Literary Supplement, 1992, The State of Philosophy)
- "Replies" in Ensayos sobre Strawson, ed. Carlos E. Carosi (Montevideo: Universidad de la Republica, 1992)
- "Knowing From Words" in Knowing From Words, ed. B.K. Matilal and A. Chakrabati (Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1992)
- "My Philosophy," and "Replies" to critics in The Philosophy of P.F. Strawson, ed. P.K. Sen and R.K. Verma (New Delhi: Indian Council of Philosophical Research, 1994)
- "Individuals" in Philosophical Problems Today, Vol. 1, ed. G. Floistad (Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1994)
- "The Problem of Realism and the A Priori" in Kant and Contemporary Epistemology, ed. Paolo Parrini (Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1994)
- "Introduction," "Kant on Substance," and "Meaning and Context" in Entity and Identity (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997)
External links
- Obituary — The TimesThe TimesThe Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
- Obituary — The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
- Peter F. Strawson: Analysis and Metaphysics. Roundtable on Strawson in Lima, Peru